National Federation Votes To Ballot On Industrial Rights

THE Police Federation has been backed into a corner by the Government, and now “doesn’t have a choice” except to ballot officers on pursuing industrial rights, Hampshire Police Federation has said.

At the National Council meeting on 20 June, the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) voted to ballot members on whether the organisation should pursue industrial rights on behalf of its membership. The National Board will now explore what industrial rights could mean for members.

Hampshire Police Federation Chair Zoë Wakefield said: “The Federation needs to look at what we can and can’t get for our members, to improve their pay and conditions of service.

“I think it’s really sad that we’ve got to this point, but we’ve been left in a position where we don’t have a lot of choice.

“We’ve tried to be a part of the PRRB [Police Remuneration Review Body]. We’ve tried to engage with the Government, but nothing seems to be working. So I think this is, sadly, a last-resort step for police officers. Most police officers don’t want to be in this position, but they feel that we don’t have much other choice.”

But some officers needed clarification on what industrial rights would mean, Zoë said.

She said: “I think the next step is to educate everyone. I’ve seen some of the Twitter reactions to this, and people are saying, ‘I don’t want to strike’. But there’s a lot more to it than just the right to strike, because that’s something we’ll probably never get. I think we need to fully educate our members, so they know what they’re balloting, what they’re voting for. “

She added: “Time is of the essence. This has been talked about for a long time, we finally now need to just get on and do the ballot.”